%'Ob. XVI. NO. 5. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



'c7 



* CORN— sue ICERS. 



SoiiiH pRi-soMS without iitulerstaniling the iiatu- 

 nil history of the phuit, at the Uist dressing pull 

 oft'tlie suckers, which is niiii lo the crops, as they 

 are absoliilely necessary, not otily to filling out 

 the ends of the most of'tlio first eiirs, but to tilling 

 out the late ears in some degree. 



The time in which the male blossom on the 

 msin stalk remains in vigor i.s not more than six 

 days, vvli«n the season is good : but if the weather 

 is hot and diy, or is very stormy, it is not so long. 

 And this length is only enough to fructify the ear- 

 liest ears in which the female blossom comes out 

 first from the geini of the lowest grains, and pre- 

 sent themselves in circles at the end of the corol- 

 la or husks, and as they come out, are impregna- 

 ted, and thus they are every day and every hour 

 presenting new circles of female blossoms, until 

 the vvhole_are tlius impregnated. But if the heat 

 is so excessive as to kill the male blossom before 

 the whole of the female blossom has come out of 

 the corrolla or husk, then if there are no suckers 

 to supply the deficiency of pollen, there will be a 

 portion of the upper end of the ear that will be 

 barren of grain. To supply this deficiency of pol- 

 len. Providence, in org .nizing the corn plant has 

 ordered that the three lower joints should produce 

 suckers that should come up in succession, to sup- 

 i)ly a continual source of the fructifying princi|ile 

 to the whole succession of ears that may come out 

 for the space of at least three weeks after that on 

 the stalk has been exljausted. And on this suc- 

 cession of male blossoms, the greatness of the crop 

 depends. And the land should be so rich as to 

 force out at least two suckers on every stalk, or 

 no very great crop should be expected. But if 

 the land is so rich as to produce these, then in- 

 stead of having the usual crop of about 3-5 bushels 

 lothe acre, the careful farmer may expect from 80 

 to 120 bushels with very little extraordinary ex- 

 pense, and this land will be prepared for other 

 crops. You will please to indulge me further to 

 observe on the culture of corn, that to manure 

 poor land in the hill is bad cultivation, although it 

 is true that by this mode, the early growth of the 

 corn is proirioted ; but the moment the roots of 

 the plants extend beyond the manure, the growth 

 of the crop is checked, at the most crHical season 

 when the suckers and ears are setting, by which 

 it often happens that the stalk still runs up, and 

 the male blossom comes out and is spent before 

 the female blossom appears at all. But if the 

 shovel full of manure that has been put in each 

 hill, had been incorporated with the soil, the ear- 

 ly growth of the cruj) would not have been so 

 rapid, but then the growth would have been 

 equal in all parts of the plant, and a crop would 

 have been received in proportion to the goodness 

 of the soil and preparation, and the attendance 

 given it. Anon. 



— Girmantown Tel.'\ 



would destroy the weevil. It should be sown 

 when the grain is wet or the flew on. In that 

 article it is recommended to sow 1 peck of lime 

 to the acre ; but many farmers think it b(;st to 

 sow more, as it is supposed that there is no dan- 

 ger of injuring the grain by applying more lime. 

 We have applied slacked lime to tender cucuni- 

 ber and other vines without injury. 



A farmer in Kennebec, last summer, when he 

 found the weevil making ravages among his wheat, 

 sowed on it common wood ashes, two and a half 

 bushels to the acre, when the dew was on, and 

 in a very few days he found that the insects had 

 entirely disappeared, and his wheat was good. 



The wheat insect is a small fly which deposits 

 its eggs in tin: hull of the wheat when it is in full 

 blow, as the bull is then open. These eggs [iro- 

 duce a number of maggots to each deposit, which 

 are large enough to eat the wheat when it arrives 

 at its milky state. This fly deposits its eggs at 

 the tiirie the wheat is usually i'; blow. Late sown 

 wheat usu.-dly escapes the ravages of this insect, 

 as the time of depositing its eggs is past before 

 the wheat blossoms. — Yankee Far. 



Look oct for the Weevil. — This insect des- 

 troyed a great ileal of grain last year in some parts 

 of the country, and every one who has any grain 

 growing, ought to sow on lime or ashes at the 

 proper time for applying the remedy, lest these 

 insects should be at their work of destruction, or 

 examine frequently and carefully, and apply it as 

 goon as they commence their work. 



In our last number but one, we published an 

 article by the Rev. Heiny Colman, showing that 

 slacked lime sown on grain as it was flowering, 



A correspondent of the Maine Farmer, after 

 speaking of fine crops of grain, sa>s — 



But have we nothing to fear from a blast com- 

 in-,- over these fiiir prospects of ours ? Yes ; the 

 wheat grower has much to fear from the weevils, 

 destructive insects, mildew, &c., and it behooves 

 every man, whether he he farmer, merchant, law- 

 yer or minister, who may know of any means by 

 which wheat can be preserved from these des- 

 troying insects, and carried through to maturity, 

 to communicate it to the public, that all may be 

 benefited by such information ; and he who will' 

 keep back that which would be really useful to 

 the working class, is a selfish man, and is not do- 

 ing as he would wish to be done by. 



Holding this to be a good doctrine, I give the 

 favorable result of sowing ashes on wheat, as it 

 wag told to me Uy one who can always be depen- 

 ded upon. 



Mr derrick of Poland, informed me that a year 

 ago last spring, ho had 2 1-2 bushels of wheat 

 sown on one piece — ground all alike — and on one 

 bushel of sowing, be sowed two bushels of strong 

 ashes. He sowed on the ashes at the time of a 

 a heavy dew, and when the wheat "was just com- 

 ing into blow," be sowed as much as he could 

 on the wheat heads. The result was that from 

 the one bushel of seed, he got fifteen bushels of 

 wheat entirely free from weevils, and from the 

 remainder, one and a half bushels of seed, he got 

 only five bushels of poor blighted wheat, almost 

 whelly destroyed by the weevils. 1 he whole was 

 sown at one time, ground manured alike, and the 

 only difference in the management, was the addi- 

 tion of the two bushels of ashes. Is not so simple 

 and so cheap an experiment well worthy of the 

 attention of wheat growers ? If ashes are not 

 handy, I would recommend sowing on lime, in 

 lieu of ashes. 



They bi-ing the leaves daily from the distance 

 of between one and two miles, and have had the 

 pleasure of seeing the worms thrive ntider their 

 attentive care. They have now on hand a large 

 quantity of Cocoons, from a pari of which they 

 have drawn, on the common reel, a biauliful sam- 

 ple of silk, of a strong texture and fine appear- 

 ance. 



We applaud the perseverance and industry of 

 these enterprising young ladies, and hope ibeir 

 exertions may be profitable. They certainly 

 deserve the uppndiation of the public for the spir- 

 ited experiment which they are making. We ex- 

 pect theirexample will be followed by others, anil 

 believe the day is not far distant when silk will 

 become a staple of the Alleghanies. 'J'be com- 

 mon mulberry is indigenous to this conntty, and 

 would, no doubt, be much improved by cultiva- 

 tion. We are well convinced that it will produce 

 silk of a good quality, but i)robably not of so fine 

 a texture as the Chinrse mulberry. We believe 

 that the Chinese mulberry can be cultivated here, 

 and under this impression, the editor of this paper 

 sowed this spring a quantity of seed, which now 

 exhibit a number of thrifty plants. If they be able 

 to bear the rigor of our winter months, he will 

 have the satisfaction of having first introduced into 

 this section of the country, an article, which may 

 hereafter prove beneficial. — Johnstown [Pa.] Sky. 



The Crops. — Whenever had any people great- 

 er cause for rejoicing, with reference lo the har- 

 vest, than that with whiidi Western New Y/)rk is 

 now blessed ? Imagination could not fancy any 

 condition of weather more favorable than that 

 which has been realized during the last 10 weeks. 

 The rains falling often enough, and not too hea- 

 vily at once — the temperature _/;is( ri'o'/if for wheat, 

 potatoes, and aliuost every thing in the farming 

 line, excepting corn, for which there is chance 

 enough yet in the warm weather of August — all 

 combined to bestow u[ion the country, a most 

 luxuriant vegetation. The weather has been ex- 

 cellent for haying ; and the crop of that article 

 promises full supplies at fair prices to those who 

 may have cattle to fodder through the next win- 

 ter storms. 'J'bat our readers may be fully sat. 

 isfied of the abundant cause for rejoicing with re. 

 ference to the crops, we are endeavoring to col- 

 lect from competent judges in this and some neigh- 

 boring counties, of the Genesee Valley, estimates, 

 cai-efully prepared, of the quantity of wheat har- 

 vested this season, &(\ — Rochester Mv. 



Silk Culture. — We have often thought that 

 silk might be advantageously raised in this cli- 

 mate, and we are now more convinced of it, by 

 having visited the silk establishment of the Miss 

 Fullers in this place. These young ladies have 

 this season fed several thousand silk worms liom 

 the common black Mulberry, which grows in the 

 woods in the vicinity of this place. 



Foul Confectionary. — A writer in the Mag- 

 azine of Popular Science, gives a frightful ac- 

 count of the manner in which confectionary is 

 made, and especially that which is sold about the 

 street, and made " for the use of schools." He 

 says the lozenges, sugar i)lums, and similar arti- 

 ticles, are generally composed of the offal of starch 

 works, mixed with plaster of Paris, |iipe clay, or 

 chalk, anil us little sugar as is able to give them a 

 palatable sweetness ; but what is worse, is, that 

 they are often colored with red lead, verdigris, 

 gamboge, and other mineral poisons. A species 

 of refined liquorice, manufactured for the same 

 market, is a compound of common Spanish juice, 

 lamp-black and starch. Faugh ! how can you 

 little masters — how can you little misses — eat 

 such vile stufl'. — JV. Y. Trans. 



Potatoes are said to be good food for sheep. 



